Elevator Confessions
by PrairieLily
Summary: Gibbs has a unique way of dealing with personnel conflicts. Two complete chapters posted, they are self contained and complete in and of themselves, so no cliffhangers. If the mood strikes there may be more. McAbby implied in Chapter 1.
1. Tony and Tim

**Title:** Elevator Confessions

**Rating:** T for brief language, but otherwise Chapter 1 just some lighter fun stuff. McAbby implied. Chapter 2 may be a bit more serious. Haven't yet decided if there will be a Chapter 3. Chapters are self-contained just in case though. ;)

**Disclaimer:** Tony, McGee, Gibbs, Kate, Ducky, Palmer, Ziva, Abby, and Ari are not my characters. I'm just borrowing them for a couple of minutes at a time...

**Summary:** Gibbs tries a new strategy on his bickering boys.

**Author's Note:** Takes in McGee's first year with the team, pre-Twilight. This chapter was also posted previously at Friends of NCIS ezboard, in case anyone thinks it looks familiar. It is mine, with some slight modifications. Chapter 2, and any others that may or may not follow, are new and haven't been posted anywhere else.

* * *

**Tony and Tim**

"That settles it," Tony said, as he sat down on the floor with a heavy sigh. "I'm officially in hell."

"_You're_ in hell?" McGee asked, plunking himself down on the floor across from Tony. Then, shaking his head, McGee muttered to himself, "I _knew_ I should have taken the stairs."

"So why didn't you Probie?" Tony asked, annoyance in his voice. McGee glared at him. "Temporary lapse of good judgement. And if you call me Probie again, I'm gonna either hurt you, or die trying."

Tony grumbled a response that was neither audible, nor especially intelligible. "Can't you fix this McGee?" he asked. "Or, don't they offer "elevator repair" at MIT?"

"No, DiNozzo, they don't. Unfortunately, they don't offer "how to shut up your annoying colleagues" either." Tony made a face, McGee shot one back, crossing his eyes for good measure, which prompted Tony to stick out his tongue, causing McGee to raise his hands, thumbs outstretched, to his ears…

Tony was about to raise his outstretched thumb to the tip of his nose, but suddenly couldn't help it - he laughed in spite of himself. "We're grown men, right McGee?" McGee chuckled. "That's what they tell us. Unless, of course, you're asking Kate." Tony smiled and nodded, then his face was suddenly crossed with a contemplative look. "I wonder how long it would take Gibbs to boot our asses from the team if he saw us behaving like this?" Tony asked. McGee paused a moment to think, then replied, "I don't think my watch measures time that quickly. Anyway," McGee continued, "he might just boot our asses for being UA from the office."

"So," Tony said, surveying their surroundings, "I wonder if anyone knows we're missing? Does your cell work in here?" McGee checked. "Nope, looks like the signal's blocked. Yours?" Tony gave him an ironic look. "I don't know. It probably does. Too bad it's on my desk… Heeeeeyyyy… McGee, didn't you say you had a date with Abby tonight?"

McGee's face lit up. "Yeah, I did. You know she _hates_ to be stood up. Not that I've ever personally done that to her of course… so she'll either be righteously pissed when I don't show up…" he said, as Tony's eyes lit up, and he raised a finger in the air, and finished, "… OR! She'll _know_ something's up because you _never_ stand her up! McGee, that's brilliant! What time was your date anyway?"

McGee looked at his watch and his face fell. He sighed heavily as he said, "2100. Not for another 6 hours." Tony rolled his eyes. "2100? Are you sure? That's kinda late, isn't it?" McGee raised an eyebrow at him. "Tony, this is Abby we're talking about. At 2100 her evening is just getting underway. Yeah, I'm sure." Tony grimaced. "Damn," he said simply.

"Well," said McGee, thinking, "Surely maintenance would be called when it's discovered that the elevator crapped out… wouldn't they?" Tony thought a moment. "Maybe… but I'm not sure if they're even here today. Sunday is pretty quiet. Not many people around. We're only here because Gibbs called us in to work this case. You know, you should wear jeans to work more often, McGee. You look right sharpish… Heeeeeeeeyyyyyyy…!" Tony said suddenly, as something occurred to him. McGee raised an eyebrow. "Now what…? Oh, wait. GIBBS! Now, _he's_ gonna be pissed when we don't show up in the office! Question is, do we want him to find us, or _not_?" Tony laughed triumphantly, and jabbed his finger in the air, pointing it towards McGee. "YES! Now you're thinkin' like an NCIS Agent! Anticipate, McGee, anticipate!" Tony paused and sighed dramatically. "Awww," he said as he dried a non-existent tear, "my little boy is growing up." He paused a moment to gather his thoughts, as McGee fired him a dirty look. "Okay, now you _do_ have a point. Maybe we're not in hell yet after all. But, he's gotta understand that we're not exactly stuck in here by _choice_, right?" McGee snickered. "I would hope so. Then again, we _are _talking about Gibbs here."

McGee took a moment to study their surroundings. "Well," said McGee finally, "I don't know, maybe we're _not_ stuck in here." Tony looked up. "I wonder how high up that is?" McGee looked up as well. "I don't know. Is that even an option?" Tony gave McGee a look, sizing him up. "One way to find out. You're the same height as me, right? Around six-one?" McGee nodded, then narrowed his eyes at Tony. "Oh, no, DiNozzo. You're not standing on my shoulders. And I'm sure as hell not standing on yours."

"Well, then… what about this panel. Can you crack it open and hotwire it or something?" McGee cocked his head at Tony. "I don't know, Tony. How would I look with a 'fro? Those are live circuits dwelling inside that thing. You wanna give it a whirl though, go ahead. It's been a slice Anthony, I'll miss your smiling face."

Tony was about to fire back a response that started with "Timothy," but had his thought interrupted as they both stopped a moment to listen to something that neither were sure they were hearing. "Is that Gibbs yelling?" McGee asked. Tony shrugged. "I don't know. I was hoping it was just that voice inside my head. But if you hear it too… either he's out there and ready to kill us both, or we both just had the cheese slide off our crackers."

McGee grinned briefly at that, then said, "He seems to have that effect on both of us." Then he sat back down heavily, sighing in frustration. Tony took one last look around, then followed suit.

"So," Tony started, thinking that they might as well pass the time with conversation, "what were the plans tonight anyway? Gonna get up close and personal with some of Abby's tats?" McGee levelled a look at him. "I guess you've never understood the concept that a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell?" Tony grinned and winked. "Who said I'm a gentleman?" McGee snorted and shook his head. "Wasn't me." Tony grinned. "So, you never did say if she's got any on her, you know, caboose." McGee smiled sweetly. "You know what, let me fill you in on a little secret," he said mysteriously. Tony leaned forward, his face lit up with gleeful anticipation. McGee leaned forward as well, and whispered, "I _still_ don't say." Tony sat back with a look of disgust. "That's just wrong McGee. Gettin' a guy's hopes up like that. All wrong." McGee leaned back against the wall and wrapped his arms around his drawn-up legs. He gave Tony a smug little grin. "You wanna know that, Tony, you're gonna have to track down one of her ex-boyfriends. Of course, with Abby, she pretty much has a new tat a couple of times a year… so they might not be of much help to you."

Tony sat back and snickered, thinking a change of subject was in order. "You don't get out much do you McGee?" McGee smiled sweetly. "I get out plenty, Tony. Just not with plenty of women. Maybe that's part of your problem." Tony looked at him, scowling. "What problem? I don't have a problem." McGee crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his colleague, giving him a skeptical look. "Tony, in a room full of dozens of beautiful women, you will always, without fail, zoom in on the one that's a psycho stalker, and hit on her. Then you get to spend the next two months of your life sleeping with your Sig under your pillow and one eye open." Tony chuckled slightly, shrugging. "What can I say McGee. I have a knack… but in that room full of beautiful women, even I can admit that most of them will be attracted to at least one of us. And the rest of them will probably be gay, and attracted to each other." McGee laughed out loud, and shook his head. "It's a respect thing, Tony. I respect women, and as such, I attract respectable women. You, on the other hand… still have some learning to do." Tony nodded sadly, then looked up and grinned mischievously. "I won't deny that, but being like me is just so much FUN!"

"If you call being stalked "fun" then more power to ya, Tony." Tony stood up and stretched. "So, you're saying, I could take some lessons from you then, huh? While you're learning how to be a kickass agent, I can learn how to be a gentleman?" McGee sighed and smiled. "Something like that, I guess. But I'm a fast learner," he added, winking at Tony. "That you are, McGee, that you are. You know, you really are a good agent. I guess I never told you that, did I? I'd trust you to have my back anytime now." McGee fired him a questioning look. "Really?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah, McGee, really. You're a lot smarter than I was when I was a probie." McGee stood up and stretched as well. "Well, I'm smarter than you in SOME ways, but in others, I'm still learning a lot from you, too. Maybe we have much to learn from each other." Tony braced his back against the wall and slid back down to the floor, settling down again. "So, there it is. The cat's outta the bag. I like you McGee. There, I said it. Jig is up." McGee sat back down as well. "Well, I like you too, Tony, God help me. Just don't tell Kate. I think she likes to see us bicker." Tony chuckled softly, and said, "Yeah, fond memories of growing up with her psycho brothers. She _did_ compare us to them once. I think we give her the warm and fuzzies."

The two men sat silently for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. "Hey, when was Gibbs' last refill, on his coffee I mean?" McGee asked suddenly. "He's gonna need the elevator if he wants a fresh cup, right? He wouldn't just take the stairs?" Tony thought a moment, then smiled. "No, he wouldn't. Takes too much time. I think he was just starting a fresh one when we headed in here." McGee grinned triumphantly. "So, Gibbs will soon discover that the elevator doesn't work. That's the good news." Tony nodded, and said, "and the bad news is that when he DOES get this thing open, he'll already be down a quart." McGee nodded. "Yup. But, we're big guys, right? We're both taller than Gibbs." He was obviously trying to convince himself of something. Tony rubbed his chin as a sweetly diabolical expression crossed his face. "Hah hah! You're right! We _are_ big guys. Normally, he'd be able to take us, individually. _But_, this time, we're two against one." Tony's voice took on a cocky, confident tone, as he scooted over to where McGee was sitting and draped an arm around his shoulders. "_Hell_ yeah, we can take him down _easy_ if we have…"

Just then, the doors opened, and a grouchy looking Jethro Gibbs stood glaring at them. He gave his two agents an evil grin. "Take _who_ down, Tony?" McGee and Tony exchanged a look, then scrambled to their feet. "Oh, look,_that's_ where my cell phone got to," Tony said, rushing past Gibbs. Thinking quickly, McGee smiled suddenly and gingerly took the empty cup from Gibbs' hand. "_There_ you are Boss, I was just about to refill that for you," he said, backing up into the elevator again. "Black, extra large, right?" The elevator doors closed and Gibbs shook his head, as the elevator descended without incident to ground level.

Gibbs grinned to himself, and chuckled. Leaving them in there for a spell was character building, and they hadn't killed each other - in fact, he was pretty sure he'd opened the doors just in time to see some brotherly bonding. He was still smiling to himself as he thought about how Abby had shown him how to bring it to a halt from the outside panel. "Just make sure you get McGee outta there before 1930. We've got a date at 2100 and I want him to have lots of time to go home and pretty himself up for me." Gibbs' eyes sparkled as he thought that he'd have to remember to thank Kate for suggesting this. Who said working Sundays had to be a drag?


	2. Abby and Ziva

**Summary: **Gibbs tries his strategy again, this time on his bickering girls.

**Author's note:** Takes place about 2 months after Twilight, and not quite a year after Chapter 1. The tone of this one is a bit more serious, but has a few moments that may make you smile. I hope!

* * *

Ziva sighed. She didn't cry easily, but even so, she felt herself near tears with sheer frustration. 

Tony didn't seem to mind her much… most of the time. Tony had his moments, but Ziva didn't know if it was her, or if he was like that with everyone. Well, plenty of time to find out anyway. It didn't look like she was going anywhere anytime soon. For better or for worse, like it or not, she was here to stay.

McGee seemed to have accepted her easily enough, but… maybe too easily. She couldn't decide if he was genuinely glad to have her on the team, or just glad to have someone replace him as the resident newbie. In any case, he treated her well - for that much at least, she was grateful. She had heard stories of how he had been treated when he first arrived on the team. Maybe it was just Tim's way, determined to treat her with more respect than he himself had received. He seemed the type of man to do that.

Ducky, it seemed, had accepted her easily, too. But Ducky was the consummate gentleman, right down to the distinguished English brogue. She wasn't sure if Ducky could be rude to a lady if he wanted to be, unless the situation genuinely called for it. That incident with the anthropologist, her first case with the team, came to mind. Ziva didn't know that a man could be catty, until that case.

Palmer she didn't know much about, but he seemed respectful to those who outranked him… which pretty much took in everyone, including her. Maybe at some point she'd be able to gauge how he felt about her.

Gibbs seemed more grudging to accept her. They still butted heads now and then, but they got along alright otherwise. Ziva knew that she had much to learn, and he was going to be her main teacher. She would learn a lot from Tony, and for once, Tim would be the teacher, and not the student. Ducky seemed full of lessons that she didn't necessarily need, but maybe that was part of the older man's charm.

But then, there was Abby.

Abby seemed to harbour a genuine dislike for her, and Ziva had no idea why.

Maybe Abby was jealous. She had heard, also, how territorial she got with women who had occasion to work with Tim, even during those times when she and McGee weren't… what was that phrase again? Oh, yes. "On again." Abby seemed to be possessive of everything and everyone she cared about. Since she cared about Tim whether they were seeing each other or not, at any given time, she was possessive of him. And her other guys, as well. Tony, like a brother; Gibbs, like a father; Ducky, like a favourite Uncle. Abby guarded them all like a watchdog.

Maybe Abby wasn't ready to accept that Kate was gone, and here was Ziva David, in all her usurper's glory, sitting at Kate's desk and doing the job that Kate used to do.

If that were the case, then maybe it wasn't personal, after all.

But maybe Abby just didn't trust her. What little the team knew, outside of Gibbs, of course, who knew far more than anyone else about her true relationship with Ari Haswari… perhaps that was part of it. If that were the case, then it most definitely was personal.

Ziva was a strong woman, but even she felt tears form at her frustration. When would she start to fit in here? It seemed to be taking so damned long.

Ziva blinked herself back to her current reality.

She looked across the stalled elevator, at Abby, who seemed to be doing a knockout job of ignoring her presence.

"Are you going to just sit there and say nothing?" Ziva finally asked, exasperated. Abby ignored her, merely blinking, and staring off at the ceiling.

"I know you don't like me, Abby, that much is clear. But we have to work together. Can't we call a truce? _Please?_"

Abby finally broke her gaze with the nothingness above them, and levelled a blank look at her.

"Okay, so it's not _me_ who needs to call a truce. I don't recall being so cold with you. In fact, I've made every effort to be nice to you, and be co-operative with you."

Abby said nothing, continuing her steady blank glare.

Ziva threw up her hands. "Damnit Abby! It's not my fault that I'm not Kate!"

Abby blinked, and her expression changed slightly. Ziva wasn't sure, but she thought she might have heard a crack in Abby's icy demeanor.

"I'm not here to replace her. Nobody can ever do that. But they needed someone to do the job she once did. It was just a manpower thing."

"Womanpower," Abby finally said.

Ziva shook her head, "I'm sorry…?" she asked, confused.

"Womanpower. They have plenty of manpower. It was womanpower they were lacking in." Abby smiled slightly, in spite of her best efforts to remain, at the very least, stoic.

Ziva suddenly understood. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she stifled a giggle. "True. It takes just one woman to do the work of two men, sometimes. That's why there are two of them, and just one of me, plus Gibbs."

Abby smiled, eyebrow raised slightly. Ziva sensed that there had just been a bit of a breakthrough, but she wasn't there yet. Perhaps she'd never really be "there" with Abby. But at this point, all she really wanted was enough acceptance by her to be able to work with her in a productive manner.

Okay… so maybe not exactly. Ziva thought about it honestly, and finally admitted to herself that she really did want a friend around here, but... not necessarily any of the guys. Not the one who was probably just being nice to her because he had to be to avoid getting the back of his head slapped. And not the one of them who was being nice for reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on yet. And not the one who was being nice because that was how a gentleman treated a lady.

She was so new to all of this. A new home, a new job, new surroundings, new culture… new pretty much _everything_. She had never felt so alone. All she really wanted was someone she could talk to when the day started to get to be too much. Someone she could sit down and talk to, confiding girl things, with some chocolate thrown in for good measure.

So Ziva admitted to herself, she really did want Abby to like her. But she also realized, with sadness and regret, that at the rate things were going, that might never happen. Hell, she'd be lucky if Abby even accepted her enough to be able to work with her without the frosty attitude.

"I know you're probably never going to like me, Abby," Ziva finally said. "I don't know why you don't, so I don't know what I can do to change your mind. This is all so new to me. I feel like a whale out of water."

Abby coughed, trying to hide a small giggle that suddenly erupted from her throat. "Fish, Ziva. Fish out of water, not whale." Ziva blushed slightly. "See? I don't know if I'll ever fit in around here." The fact that Abby had just called her by her first name, for the first time that Ziva could recall, instead of the usual sarcastic, over-emphasized "Officer Da_vid_," wasn't lost on her.

Abby looked at the floor.

"Trust isn't a given, Ziva. It has to be earned. The same goes for respect."

Ziva sighed. "I know that Abby. I just don't know… I just feel so… unwanted." It killed her to appear so weak, but in spite of her best efforts, she just couldn't help it.

"It's not that you're unwanted, Ziva. It's just that… you were close to Ari. He murdered Kate, he tried to kill McGee, he tried to kill me, he tried to blow the team up, he tried to blow Gibbs up… You can't just come in here with all of us knowing that and be accepted without question. It doesn't work that way. It's been a really rough couple of months since Kate died."

Ziva nodded sadly. "I know. McGee has told me that, and I understand of course. Kate was one of you. And I know what Ari did. I feel betrayed by him, like I never really knew him at all. He betrayed my trust and I will never forgive him for that. I feel so… _used_ by him." Ziva paused a moment, gathering herself before continuing. "Kate was one of you, but I don't think I will ever be."

Abby scrutinized her, watching her, picking up on the subtle details of her mannerisms, her reactions, her expressions. "Maybe someday you will be. But you have to earn your place here. You're here because you've been ordered to be here. And we work with you because we've been ordered to work with you. Trust and respect aren't a given. You have to earn them. That takes time."

"All I really hope for right now is to be able to work with you without feeling like a lisper."

Abby giggled again. "I think you mean leper." Ziva smiled, nodding. "Thank you, Abby. I could learn so much from you, if you were only willing to teach me."

Abby looked at her again. Ziva _seemed_ genuine enough. And even she couldn't squash that slight feeling of sympathy. Ziva really was trying to fit in. Maybe she could cut her a little bit of slack. Just a _little_ bit, mind you.

"Truce." Abby finally said, extending a hand. Ziva started, gasping slightly, and her jaw dropped the tiniest bit. "Really?"

"It's all I can give you right now. Take it or leave it."

Ziva swallowed hard as her throat tightened and her eyes burned slightly.

Finally. Maybe she could finally quit feeling so damned alone all the time.

She nodded. "I'll take it. I won't let you down, Abby. I promise. I won't let any of you down. I know I have a long way to go, but this is a start, yes?"

She extended her hand as well, and clasped Abby's in hers.

Outside, Gibbs stood, listening through the bug that he'd had McGee plant in the elevator. Next to him stood Tony and McGee, grinning at eachother. All three of them looked decidedly satisfied.

It had worked on Tony and Tim, what only _seemed_ a long time ago, at Kate's suggestion, when Gibbs' two bickering boys couldn't seem to get past their differences. Gibbs had tried this little trick on them, too, locking them in the elevator until they'd called a truce.

Tony and Tim glanced at each other now, satisfied, then turned their eyes on their boss.

Gibbs hit the button and the three men watched as the doors slid open.

And there stood their girls, hand in hand, mid-shake... and looking more than a little surprised.

"Gibbs." Abby said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"What?" Ziva asked, confused. Abby turned to her, still shaking her head. "I'll tell you later." She strode out of the elevator with as much dignity as she could muster, mumbling to Gibbs as she passed him, "_That_ was sneaky and underhanded, Gibbs."

Gibbs noticed that tiny little bit of admiration in Abby's voice though.

He looked at Ziva as she also stepped out. His newest team member seemed… relieved, somehow.

Perhaps this would be the start of their team being complete again.

The first step. Every journey begins with a single step.

Perhaps, Ziva and Abby had just finally taken that first baby step… together.


End file.
